I, too, am an immigrant. I hold on to this identity. I never forget about it.
I wanted at one time to be an immigration law specialist. I know far too much from personal experience what it’s like to seek work here, legally, illegally, quasi-legally. I know what it’s like to get hired under the table and not get benefits. Don’t ask, don’t tell.
But in the end I hadn’t the fiber for it. Handling custody battles seemed more cheery than handling deportation issues. Two parents fighting to spend time with a child. How nice. A person facing expulsion. Leave, or be jailed. Either way, go back to your family and tell them you failed.
The neighborhood I live is on one side student-ish, and on three sides immigrant-ish.
I rode out on Mr. B to do my stuff out there on the west side and, as I was leaving my neighborhood, I came face to face with the demonstration of Latino people, hundreds of them, walking back from the Capitol, asking, with their banners and their faces, for recognition and acceptance.
I claimed American citizenship when I had recognition and acceptance. I was already in law school, I had a family, I knew I would find work. My commie past was forgiven, I had a spot here. I did not have to face my family and tell them I had failed.
The images below... they bring forth a wealth of sadness in me that I cannot begin to explain.
Very moving post. I am a first generation American and most of my family members are immigrants to the US -- my dad, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. If there had been a way for me to miss my class today and join the march, I would have been right there with them.
ReplyDeleteagreed. very moving post. as a third generation american, i have no idea what it is like to be an immigrant, but as member of other minorities, i know exactly what its like to be an outsider, to feel excluded and unwelcome.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think is the overall answer to this immense problem? I have empathy for all these people. I wish there was some way to assimilate them culturaly and nationaly. We all ae products of immigration.
ReplyDeleteYour friend,
Bert
I am so proud to see so many people marching for their rights, but I'm equally disheartened by people not understanding the immigration debate, or the implication of some of their positions.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I'm glad I took Family Law and the Family Law Clinic with Ocean prior to taking Immigration Law, or I too would likely have taken another path as an attorney. At least Family Law gives the appearance of legal recourse for those "wronged"; at times, there's no sense of justice in deportation hearings.
All: thanks for the comments. Now if I only had the perfectly workable solution, I’d be out in DC advocating it. I do know that people whose work we value need the respect, protections and safeguards we grant others (the “naturals”). A few years back, when I cooked for a restaurant (yes, I did that), I saw the frustration of the proprietor who could not find, even in this community of students, anyone to do the dirty work. She hired several Latinos. Who did it very very well. She then went with them to a local immigration attorney so that they could get assistance in clearing up their immigration papers. Because she was the kind of employer who believed that their contributions were valuable. It seemed a good beginning. Though I do wonder if now, five years later, they’ve made any progress, given the length of time this stuff takes. While families wait.
ReplyDeletedande: your comment posted after I'd already typed this, but it seems we have a number of similar observations.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeletesorry, sgtrocknroll. I could not be more clear about Ocean's comments policy: I censor and delete comments that are rude, that resort to name-calling, that seek to ridicule or demean people, any people, that provoke and promote hatred etc etc. And I get to decide who has crossed the line. That's Ocean for you, like it or not.
ReplyDeleteI'm a descendant of (recent) immigrants like most Americans, and the vast majority of the immigrants I've known well (from damn near everywhere, including Latin America) were the kind of immigrants we want. But I have to say, there's something a bit odd about some of these particular demonstrators carrying a foreign flag and demanding to be considered above the laws of the US. And then you've got the Aztlan crowd telling us to get the hell out.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that lefties aren't interested in trying to understand why some of us find some of this stuff a bit annoying.
And by the way, let's not say this is about "immigrants", not otherwise specified. That's not accurate. It's about illegal immigrants. It's about giving illegal immigrants a special free prize that the legal ones still have to sweat for like my grandparents did. Mmmmkay? It's not about the Eeeevil Right Wingers opposing "immigration"; it's about them opposing illegal immigration. And I'm reasonably confident that at least some folks on the left must understand the legal vs. illegal distinction; they're the ones who are so rigidly consistent in saying "immigration" whenever the subject is actually illegal immigration.
Oh, well. At least I tried.
So which thoughtcrime will this get deleted for? Of course you've got a perfect right; it's your blog. Private property and all that.
anon: I could delete you for any number of reasons, including for posting as "anon," a practice I discourage if not out and out ban (note policy as stated in sidebar). One reason I would not delete you for is an expression of an idea I do not share.
ReplyDeleteIn truth, though, I let your comment stand so that mine would make sense.
But please, can we skip the poison against lefties (or righties) please? I assume people get the distinction between legal and illegal. Especially people who are on the faculty of a law school. Like me, for instance.
I too am an immigrant. I am not a citizen yet, but hope to soon. So many Americans have very little idea about how much red tape goes into trying to do things the legal way. The immigration laws need to be changed - guest worker programs would be a great way of recognizing the reality of the situation, and avoid criminalizing people who want to make an honest living. Somehow in all this legal immigrants should be recognised too. The paperwork is overwhelming, and the waiting periods too. It isn't simple. This is not a "latino" issue - immigrants come from many different backgrounds.
ReplyDelete